Visiting India is like visiting sixth of world: German Foreign Minister Baerbock

PTI, Dec 5, 2022, 10:22 AM IST

India will have a decisive influence in shaping the international order in the 21st century, especially in the Indo-Pacific, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said as she kicked off her two-day visit to the national capital.

Baerbock also described as ”impressive” India managing to lift more than 400 million people out of absolute poverty in the last 15 years, and said, ”It shows that social plurality, freedom, and democracy are a motor for economic development, peace, and stability.” ”Working on this together with strengthening human rights is also our task,” Baerbock said in a statement on her visit to India.

That we want to strengthen economic and security policy cooperation with India beyond strategic partnership are not empty words, she said.

The German foreign minister arrived here Monday morning and is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.

Baerbock said both sides will also sign a mobility agreement ”that will make it easier for our people to study, do research and work in each other’s country.” “Visiting India is like visiting a sixth of the world. As early as next year, India will overtake China as the most populous country in the world,” she said.

”There is no doubt that India will have a decisive influence on shaping the international order in the 21st century — in the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” she said.

”And the fact that India has managed to lift more than 400 million people — almost as many as people in the EU — out of absolute poverty in the last 15 years, is impressive,” Baerbock said.

The German foreign minister lauded India’s role at the recent Bali summit.

”At the G20 summit in Bali, India showed that it is ready to play its role globally. The clearer positioning of the G20 against the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine is ultimately also thanks to India,” she said. ”As an emerging economic power and a solid democracy, India is both a role model and a bridge for many countries in the world, despite all the internal social challenges. And a natural partner of Germany,” she added.